


dance with me, in this twilight

by YaelaTheWordsmith



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Airbender Kuroo, Earthbender Daichi, Getting Together, HQ Rarepair Bang 2020, M/M, Magic School, not an atla au tho, romantic sunsets and dancing in the air
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23509180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YaelaTheWordsmith/pseuds/YaelaTheWordsmith
Summary: It's the last day of term, everyone is celebrating, and Tetsurou asks Sawamura Daichi to dance - in the air. It's very romantic and very pretty and he'd like you to please ignore the fact that he almost drops his crush in the middle of the air.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 64
Collections: HQ Rarepair Bang 2020





	dance with me, in this twilight

**Author's Note:**

> It's posting time!!!! The bang was a blast, holy shit, and it was super great working with the lovely Alex (@alartes-draws on Tumblr)! He brought the fic to life, and I can't thank him enough. You can find the full art [here](https://alartes-draws.tumblr.com/post/614636381440983040/i-thought-you-said-we-were-going-to-dance-then) :)

  
  
  
It’s the last day of the term and the school grounds are thronged with celebrating students. The last exam had been final year students’, and they’ve long since tossed their bags crammed with notes and guides aside and raced down through the echoing stone corridors to join the last and biggest party of the school year. There’s a massive bonfire burning in the courtyard, and music playing from somewhere, and food stalls and game stalls and exam papers being trampled underfoot by thousands of feet. The teachers have retired to the staff room to enjoy at least one day of peace as they pretend they don’t know what’s happening outside.

Evening light filters through spurts of leaping fire and streams of twisting water, both tossed by curls of playful wind as the more daring students give their creativity free rein. Kai’s unearthed shimmering crystals that Michimiya sets swooping between dancing people, casting glittering light on their laughing faces. Iwaizumi’s sleek sheets of water are vaporized when they came into contact with Terushima’s flame dragon, but Watari commands a freezing breeze to sweep over the steam and suddenly the air is full of tiny, sparkling rainbows. Ushijima is obligingly causing tongues of fire to shoot out of a third floor window while a gleeful Bokuto shoots different minerals into them that cause them to blaze blue, green, orange, purple, red, every colour imaginable. Kamasaki hops onto the karaoke stage, yelling into the mic with gusto, and half the crowd winces collectively at the screech from the speakers. Moniwa, looking embarrassed for his classmate, makes a slight gesture, and a wave of water from the fountain in the corner of the courtyard crashes into Kamasaki and sends him tumbling down into the crowd. Tanaka is dancing with Amanai, the flames flickering at their feet jumping a little higher every time they laugh. Two of her friends have Nishinoya perched precariously on their shoulders, and he’s laughing like a demon overlord as Ennoshita tries to convince him not to attempt a backflip to the ground.

Everyone is outside today. Even the students who usually prefer to keep to themselves have come to sit on the windowsills of the school building and watch the festivities below. It’s hot and loud and sweaty and, in Tetsurou’s opinion, unarguably the best day of the whole term. Even Kenma ditches his musty scrolls on this one day - Tetsurou can see him high up on the terrace of the school, probably watching the chaos on the ground with his slight, lazy smile. Tetsurou is dancing - or what passes for dancing - with Yaku and Kai by his side, half an uneaten crepe in one hand for reasons he can’t quite remember and shouting at the top of his lungs as whoever’s controlling the music puts on something that seems to be 95% bass. His tie is askew, his shirt is half untucked, and his hair is definitely significantly worse than usual, but even Yaku zapping his feet with a spurt of fire when he accidentally steps on his toes can’t damp the buzzing energy that won’t let him stop moving.

“Just jumping around like a maniac isn’t dancing,” Yaku shouts in his ear as Kai laughs at them both. “And stop yelling!”

Tetsurou bends down exaggeratedly far, almost level with Yaku’s shoulder. “What was that? Couldn’t hear you, Yakkun!”

Yaku doesn’t bother with fire this time, he sinks his sharp elbow into Tetsurou’s stomach without a hint of warning.

“Asshole,” he snaps, as Tetsurou doubles over, clutching his stomach. He looks up with watering eyes to say something caustic to Yaku, but the music changes just then.The crowd shifts, allowing him to catch sight of Sawamura and Azumane watching in amusement as a very enthusiastic and very loud Sugawara twirls a reluctant Oikawa around in circles. They’re by the bonfire, and Tetsurou sees the warm light flickering over Sawamura’s skin, and - well, the music and the excitement have already gone to his head, and he doesn’t wait to think twice. Kai and Yaku are left shouting questions at his retreating back as the crepe lands in the dirt, as he sprints right up to Sawamura and tugs on his arm and yells, “Sawamura, dance with me!”

He can’t stop grinning, somehow, and Sawamura’s half quizzical look of surprise melts into laughter as he looks up into his face. “Dance with you?” he says. “Really?”

“You’ve never been flying before, have you? Like really flying?” Tetsurou slides his hand down to grip Sawamura’s palm. “Come dance with me, and I’ll show you!”

Sawamura pauses only a second before he squeezes his hand tight, and Tetsurou’s heart soars in his chest. “Lead the way,” he grins, and lets Tetsurou pull him out of the crush of moving bodies.

They run behind the school buildings, to the empty open field where the earthbenders practise. The music is muted, but the beat of the drums still pulses up through their feet. Tetsurou hadn’t really expected Sawamura to say yes, in all honesty, and with their hands still linked and his dark eyes smiling directly into his, a different kind of excitement is setting his heart racing.

“Ready?” he says, because he thinks there might be a trace of apprehension in the set of Sawamura’s mouth.

“I _have_ done this before, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen Sugawara lifting you what, a couple of feet? This is going to be better than that.” Tetsurou lets his mouth curve into a lazy smirk. “You of all people should know exactly what I can do.”

Something flashes in Sawamura’s gaze, and Tetsurou knows he’s remembering their final practicals, where he’d lost out on third place to Tetsurou by a hairsbreadth. He takes a deliberate step forward, his chin tilting up in challenge.

“Show me,” he says, and Tetsurou grins, shrugging off his school blazer.

“You don’t want a jacket or something? It’ll be cold.”

“I’ve got fire blood in me, I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.” He reaches out to hold his other hand and calls up a good breeze that swirls swiftly around their feet, setting their clothes fluttering. “Here we go, then!”

He lifts them slowly at first, just so Sawamura gets accustomed to the sensation of having quickly shifting wind supporting his whole weight - it’s disorienting for people who aren’t used to it, especially for earthbenders. But Sawamura says “Is that all?” in an infuriatingly amused tone, so Tetsurou grins back, and flicks a finger, and they shoot up into the air like a bullet.

To his credit, Sawamura neither flails nor gasps at the speed at which they move; but he does go a little pale, and wobbles on instinct as he tries to search for balance that is entirely in Tetsurou’s hands. Tetsurou flies a little away, laughing as he swoops over and around him.

“Let loose, Sawamura!” he calls, the wind whistling in his ears. Sawamura looks him dead in the eye, sticks out his tongue, and deliberately falls backwards. Tetsurou catches him with ease, cannoning a strong wind into his back, and they rise and rise and rise. They’re far, far above the school buildings now, far enough Tetsurou can see the rolling forests behind the school reach all the way to the sea. He keeps Sawamura on his back rather than upright, both so he doesn’t have to look down and so that he can keep an eye on his expression and gauge how he’s doing. Tetsurou was flying at heights double this by the time he was fifteen, but if there was ever a person made to keep his feet firmly on the ground, it’s Sawamura.

He’s doing well though, honestly much better than Tetsurou would have expected. He doesn’t look particularly nervous, and he doesn’t once try to turn and see how far below the ground is. He only looks up, at the majestic, billowing clouds still thousands of feet above them, at the way the sunset washes their curves pink and orange and golden, and he only looks awed.

Tetsurou slows their ascent, hovering closer to him, and points west. The sunset looks so much more magnificent from here, streaks of cloud in blazing light and deep shadow set against a background of lovely rose-tinted purple, with the first handful of twinkling stars scattered between them.

Sawamura gives a delighted laugh. “It’s beautiful!” he shouts up at Tetsurou.

“Isn’t it?” he calls back. “It’s -”

He hears the whirr of wings too late - a small bird flaps right into his face, chirping indignantly as its claws get tangled in his hair. Tetsurou yelps, flailing, and manages to brush it away. When he looks back down, Sawamura’s shoulders are shaking, his eyes brimming over with laughter. Tetsurou’s face is red, but joins in his laughter anyway. It’s colder now, he can feel it even though it doesn’t bother him, so he calls up a warm breeze to swirl around Sawamura.

Sawamura smiles and closes his eyes at the warmth. The collar of his light shirt is open and fluttering over the smooth, sturdy column of his throat in pleasant contrast to his sun-tanned skin. His hair is messy and wind-caressed, his tie tugged loose, and he has his arms spread wide like he’s lying in bed at home, like the fact that life is effectively in Tetsurou’s hands doesn’t give him the slightest qualm. Tetsurou has never wanted to kiss him so badly, and he’s wanted to kiss him so many times in the past few months that he’s lost count.

Maybe that’s what distracts him, or maybe it’s just that warmer winds are generally more treacherous and harder to control, but he loses control of this one breeze for a split second. Sawamura lurches in the air as he begins to fall, and he gasps, eyes snapping open at the sick drop in his stomach. “Kuroo - !” he cries out, reaching out with one helpless hand. 

But Tetsurou already has control back, and he’s dropped instantly to hover right below Sawamura, letting his back settle against his chest so he has something solid to help him regain his sense of gravity. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches sight of a mound of earth far, far below that certainly hadn’t been there when they’d started flying, and realises that Sawamura had instinctively started to summon the earth to catch him.

“I’m here, I’ve got you,” he says quickly in desperate reassurance, winding an arm around his waist. “Daichi, I’m right here, I won’t let you fall.”

Sawamura’s hand drops, and Tetsurou, pressed against his back, feels him take a shaky breath. “Shit. Sorry for freaking out,” he murmurs.

“I would have too, don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, but I know you wouldn’t have let me fall.”

“No, it was my fault, I lost it for a second, and -”

“And anyway, I thought you said we were going to dance?”

Tetsurou slips out from under him and turns them both so they’re upright and facing each other, wondering if he actually heard that or if it’s the wind playing tricks on him - but Sawamura meets his incredulous gaze straight on, with absolutely no trace of fear in his eyes and a flush high on his cheeks that isn’t from the evening sun or the cold wind. His mouth is tilting upwards at one corner. Tetsurou’s heart swells with how goddamn brave he is floating a few thousand feet in the air with nothing between him and death but Tetsurou, with how much sheer trust this strong and stubborn boy has in him. He laughs, unutterably relieved, and holds out a hand.

“Then may I have this dance?”

And Sawamura takes it with as little hesitation as he had before.

He sends the wind curling around them, lifting them up, together, apart, letting them dance around each other as easily as birds. Unlike him, Sawamura has no idea how the wind will move him next, and yet he manages to turn every movement into a thing of grace. If Tetsurou coaxes the wind to move faster, he moves with it with ease, twirling faster and tumbling higher without visible hesitation. If he moves them slowly, he matches it, stepping easily through the air as though he’s in a ballroom. If the winds force him to somersault, he flips and twists through the air like an acrobat. And through it all, no matter how he’s tossed, he always, always turns first to look to Tetsurou, like all he needs to feel secure is to meet his gaze.

Tetsurou doesn’t raise them much higher, and a few minutes after the sun truly sets he lets them descend gradually, circling around each other in a gentle spiral. It’ll take them a good twenty minutes to reach the ground at this pace, and he almost wishes it would take them twice as long. Sawamura is a little way above him, and he stretches a hand out to him with a rakishly imploring look, as though asking to kiss his hand like an old-fashioned gentleman. Sawamura’s eyes crinkle at the corners, and his grin at this ridiculousness is broad and free and so endearingly amused, so unselfconsciously enchanting, that Tetsurou tugs on the wind almost without thinking.

It’s a natural extension of himself, as much a part of him as his body after all these years, and it responds instantly. He sets tiny little breezes dancing around Sawamura, playing across his chest, curling around his legs, and sneaking inside his shirt. Sawamura takes a second to realise what he’s doing, and chuckles despite himself when a few breezes tickle him. Tetsurou holds his gaze as he tugs at a warmer breeze, coaxing it to curl against Sawamura’s cheek in a caress. Sawamura’s eyelids drop, his eyelashes fanning out against his skin for a heartbeat before he opens them again, and now there’s something in the depths of his eyes, something both aching and glowing at the same time.

“Come here,” he calls down, and Tetsurou wouldn’t have even considered not obeying under any other circumstances. But his heart is racing in sweet anticipation just from that one look - in anticipation of what, he doesn’t know and couldn’t guess, only he’s suddenly flushed to the tips of his toes and his hands aren’t as steady as they were a second ago. He decides, with some regret, that getting any closer to Sawamura while both their lives depend on him keeping a cool head is probably not a great idea.

So he shoots him a smile, flips over his head, and sends them pinwheeling down through the air. They race each other to the ground, tumbling at each other’s heels, laughing as they're buffeted and lifted and dropped, for Tetsurou is calling on the winds almost randomly now. He yells with laughter as he sends himself flying over Sawamura’s head more vigorously than he’d intended, but Sawamura manages to grab his hand, and, spinning around each other, their feet touch the ground. Tetsurou stumbles, and they nearly fall, but he pushes at Sawamura so he doesn’t fall on top of him and Sawamura waves one arm like a crow in a desperate attempt to gain their balance, and they manage to stay upright. 

They look at each other for a long moment, ruddy-cheeked and panting and grinning like crazy, Sawamura reaches out and yanks Tetsurou down by the other wrist so their foreheads are pressed together.  
  
“Thanks,” he breathes. “I’ve never done that before.” And holy shit, he’s so freaking _close_. His hands are so warm on Tetsurou’s wrist, and their mouths are literally inches apart, and their noses are touching and Tetsurou’s pulse is in his throat and he has to close his eyes because all he can think about is Sawamura’s breath on his lips and he’s - he’s slightly losing his mind.

“Uh -” He shakes his head, trying to focus. “Well, you know, it’s actually courtship among windbenders, so if you wanna do it again -”

Sawamura laughs, soft and low and rich. “Liar.”

“Yeah,” Tetsurou says, grinning like an idiot. “But if you enjoyed it . . .”

“I did.” Sawamura takes a step back so he can look up into his face. “I really did. And I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

“Sure, anytime. Sorry about the, uh, bumps and stuff though. Michimiya and Konoha are better at fine control than I am, and -”

“I’m sure they are, but I - want to fly with you.”

Sawamura looks a little self conscious as he says it. Tetsurou stares at him for a moment, at a loss for words, before he manages to stutter, “O-Oh, then yeah, Sawamura, just let me know, uh, whenever -”

The words die on his tongue as Sawamura reaches up to press a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“You’re cute when you’re nervous, you know that?” he grins, his cheeks a darker red than before as he steps back. “And you can call me Daichi, like you did before. See you around, Tetsurou!”

Tetsurou watches him jog back to the courtyard, faintly aware that it feels like his brain is short circuiting. When had he called him - ?

A hand steals up to cover his mouth in horror as he remembers. He’d said it in the air right in Sawamura’s ear, with an arm around his waist and when he’d nearly dropped him a second before. Of all the idiotic moments to pick, god, what had he been thinking?

But Sawamura had said _Tetsurou_ in that rich-chocolate voice, and _I want to fly with you_ , and he’d kissed him - he’d _kissed him_ \- 

Bokuto, rounding the corner of the building two minutes later, finds his friend lying face down on the ground.

“You okay?” he says, crouching next to him and poking his back curiously. “Where’d you go off to? You’re missing the best part of the bonfire.”

Tetsurou rolls onto his back like a particularly arthritic dog. “I’ve died and gone to heaven, Bokkun,” he says, staring up at the darkening sky with the biggest smile, still unable to quite believe his luck.

“What - oh!” Tetsurou lifts his head to see Bokuto’s bright eyes dancing. “Is it Sawamura? Was he with you? I heard Suga ragging him a minute ago for leaving, something about being a smooth talker. So you finally got that sugar, huh?”

“Hell yeah I did!” Tetsurou grins broadly up at Bokuto, and he can’t remember the last time he was this happy. 

Bokuto pumps his fist, grinning a delighted grin. “Awesome! I told you, dude, Sawamura’s a guy with good taste. No way he wouldn’t be into you, I told you he’s been crushing on you for months. And this means I win the stakes!”

“That’s sweet of you, Bo -” Tetsurou sits up straight, processing what Bokuto just said. “Wait, what stakes?”

“Oh, shit.” Bokuto puts a hand over his mouth, but his eyes are still bright. “Uh, there might have been a bet on when you two would finally, you know -”

“ _What?_ ”

“Yeah, I bet on this term, Suga bet on next term, and -”

“Oh my _god_ ,” Tetsurou yells, half laughing. “You incorrigible, unbelievable set of jackasses -”

Bokuto runs, and he gives chase, and they head to the food and the fire and the music-

\- and deep brown eyes, and strong shoulders, and a broad smile he’s absolutely smitten with -

\- and yeah. The last day of the term is definitely, definitely the absolute best day.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always very much appreciated, and I hope y'all enjoyed the fic! Alex's Tumblr is [here](https://alartes-draws.tumblr.com/), go give him some love!! You can find me [here](https://yaelathewordsmith.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr and [here](https://twitter.com/writer_yaela) on Twitter just to chat or for commission info :)


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